Heel attaching machines



p 1954 P. w. SENFLEBEN HEEL. ATTACHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15, 1962 Inventor Paul WSezzfZeberz By his Attorney fin l." PFkp 22, 1964 P. w. SENFLEBEN 3,149,341

HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Filed May 15, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,149,341 HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Paul W. Senfiehen, Beverly, Mass assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 15, 1962, Ser. No. 194,804 4 Claims. (Cl. 1335) This invention relates to heel attaching machines and more specifically to heel holddowns for use in said machines, it being an object of the invention to provide an improved holddown which is of the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,178,615, granted November 7, 1939 on an application filed in the names of John F. Standish et al. and which is inexpensive to manufacture and is especially etfective in the attachment of Cuban heels to shoes.

The present invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows in side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, an illustrative heel attaching machine in the process of attaching a Cuban heel to a shoe;

FIG. 2 is a view on the line l'III of FIG. 1 showing mechanism for coupling a heel holddown to a powered piston of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of an adaptor of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 4 and S are views showing in perspective, partly broken away, the holddown as viewed respectively from the front and the right and from the front and left.

The illustrative machine is described with reference to the attachment of a Cuban heel 29 to a heel seat of a shoe 22 mounted on a jack 24 comprising a multipart nailing die 26 secured to an upright column 28 which is fixed to a main frame 30 of the machine and houses nail driving mechanism.

The nailing die 26 has formed in it a plurality of nail passages 32 in which reciprocate drivers 34 serving to drive in toed-in relation nails 36 through the heel seat of the shoe 22 and into the heel which is forced against the heel seat by a holddown or presser head 38 comprising a tread abutment or clamp 40 and a back clamp 42, preparatory to attaching the heel to the shoe by the use of said nails.

The holddown or presser head 38 is interchangeably secured, as will be hereinafter explained, to a piston or plunger 44 which is reciprocable in a cylindrical bore 46 of a cylinder housing 48 fixed to the main frame 30 of the machine. The piston 44 is reciprocated in the bore 46 of the cylinder housing 48 and has an upper face 59 which forms with the housing a chamber 52 which is alternately open to oil under high and low pressures admitted through a port 54. The piston 44 is depressed to cause the holddown 38 to be forced against the heel 2% which is commonly manually positioned and held upon the heel seat of the shoe 22 positioned upon the jack 24, by the operation of high pressure oil against the face 50 of the piston 44, saidpiston being retracted to its starting position by the use of a spring 56.

Fixed by a pin 58 to the lower end of the piston 44 is an adaptor 60 which may be considered as part of the piston 44 and has secured to it by screws 61 a bar 62 passing through a slot 64 in a guide flange 66 of the cylinder housing 48, this construction insuring against rotation of the adaptor about an axis 68 of the piston. The screw 61 also serves to secure a cover plate 63 to the bar 62.

3,149,341 Patented Sept. 22, 1964 "ice The holddown or presser head 38 comprises a main housing 70 having formed in its upper end an undercut guideway '72 in which the adaptor 60 fits, the holddown being normally secured to the adaptor but being constructed and arranged for initial adjustment in directions 74 on the adaptor. The housing 70 has formed in it a slot 76 of the same width as a pin 78 which normally engages in a bore 39 formed in the adaptor 60 and passes through a bore 32 formed in a square cross sectioned portion of a screw 84. The screw 84 extends through alined bores 86 formed in spaced flanges of the housing 7 t) and is in threaded relation with a knurled hand nut 88 arranged between said flanges. The pin 78 is constantly biased into the bores 82, respectively of the screw 84 and the adaptor 61 by a spring 90.

The housing 74 has a vertical bore 92 in which fits slidingly a stem or mount 94 of the tread clamp 40, an abutment 96 of said clamp being provided with an upstanding arcuate flange 96a seated in a complemental arcuate groove 98 formed in the bottom of said stem. The upper portion of the stem 94 is threaded and has mounted on it a knurled nut 1% which is arranged in the slot of the housing 70 and may be initially rotated to raise or lower the stem into different adjusted positions in said housing. The abutment 96 may be moved into different angular positions on the stem 94 after loosening up on a screw 164 which is threaded into the stem and passes through a bore in a binder piece 166 which forms in effect part of the stem and is normally forced against the arcuate fiange 96a of the abutment. When the abutment 96 is tilted angularly to the desired angle on the stem 94 the screw 194 is tightened on the stem to force the binder piece 106 against the flange 96a of said abutment. In order to insure against any rotation of the stem 94 in the bore 92 of the housing 70 the upper part of the stem is provided with a flat face 108 engaged by a pin 110 secured to the housing. By turning the nut 100 the tread abutment 96 may be raised or lowered into difierent initial operating positions in the housing 70.

The housing 76 has formed in its rear lower portion a T-shaped guide portion 112 on which is slidable a block 114a of a carrier 114 comprising side plates 114b, 1140 which are secured respectively by one and two screws 114d and 114:; to the block 114a and have at their lower ends inwardly extending lips forming annular guideways 116 with the block 114a. The carrier 114 has formed in its upper face an arcuate groove 118 in which fits a toothed disk 120 secured to a screw 122 threaded into the housing 70, a knurled knob of said screw being used to rotate the screw whereby to cause the carrier to be moved into different adjusting positions lengthwise of the T-shaped guide portion 112 of the block 78. To retain the screw 122 in its adjusted position there is provided a leaf spring 124 secured to the block 114 and adapted to press against the periphery of the toothed disk 120.

Slidable in the arcuate guideways 116 is an arcuate holder 126 provided with a rectilinear T-shaped groove 128 in which complemental guide portions 13041 of back clamp members 130 of the back clamp 42 are arranged for initial adjustment. Threaded into the guide portions 136a of the clamp members 130 are right and left threads respectively of an adjusting screw 132 having secured to its central portion a disk 134 provided with circumferentially spaced slots 136 any one of which is adapted to move into register with a spring-pressed plunger 138 carried by the holder 126 whereby to hold the screw 132 in its initially adjusted position. The clamp members 130 may be initially moved toward and away from each other to vary the operating width of the back clamp 42 and may be initially moved collectively about an axis of the arcuate guideway 116 to vary the angles at which the clamp members 130 engage the back of the heel. The back clamp 42 may also be moved lengthwise of the T- shaped guide 112 of the housing 70 initially to move this clamp to its most effective position in accordance with the size and the shape of the heel. The amount of pressure imparted to the tread end of the heel by the tread clamp 40 may be varied by initially adjusting the clamp in the housing 70.

The tread abutment 96 may be described as being movable with relation to the housing 70 into different operating positions lengthwise of the path of movement of the piston or plunger 44 and the carrier 114 may be described as being adjustable with relation to the housing generally lengthwise of the shoe 22 mounted on the nailing die 26. The axes of curvature of the arcuate groove 98 of the stem 94 and the arcuate guideways 116 of the carrier 114 may be described as extending generally widthwise and transversely of the shoe 20 mounted on the nailing die 26.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a heel attaching machine, a nailing die for supporting in a predetermined position a shoe to which a heel is to be attached, a powered plunger movable in a predetermined path toward and away from the nailing die, a housing secured to the plunger, a tread clamp and a pair of back clamps, means for securing said clamps against movement with respect to the housing, means for initially adjusting with relation to the housing the tread clamp into different operating positions generally lengthwise of the path of movement of the plunger and also about an axis which is disposed at right angles to said path and generally widthwise of the shoe, means for initially adjusting with relation to the housing the back clamps toward and away from each other in a path extending generally widthwise of the shoe, means for initially swinging said clamps as a unit into difierent angular positions with relation to the housing about an axis disposed generally widthwise of the shoe, and means for initially moving on the housing said back clamps as a unit generally lengthwise of the shoe.

2. In a heel attaching machine, a nailing die for supporting in a predetermined position a shoe to which a heel is to be attached, a powered plunger movable toward and away from the nailing die, a housing rigidly secured to the plunger, a flat tread abutment rigidly secured to the housing, means for initially adjusting with relation to the housing the tread abutment about an axis extending transversely of the shoe whereby to cause said abutment to be arranged substantially parallel to the tread end of the heel, means for initially adjusting in the housing the tread abutment as a unit generally heightwise of the shoe and for securing said adjusted tread abutment to the housing, a carrier rigidly secured to the housing, means for initially adjusting the carrier on the housing into different adjusted positions lengthwise of the shoe and for securing said carrier in its adjusted position to the housing, an arcuate holder mounted on the carrier and having a guideway a lengthwise dimension of which extends transversely of the shoe, means for rigidly securing initially to the carrier the holder in different adjusted positions about an axis extending transversely of the shoe, a pair of back clamp members which are initially adjustable equal distances in opposite directions along the guideway of the arcuate holder, and means for initially moving the back clamp members into different adjusted positions in said guideway.

3. In a heel attaching machine, a nailing die for sup porting in a predetermined position a shoe to which a heel is to be attached, a powered plunger movable in a predetermined path toward andaway from the nailing die, a housing secured to the plunger, means for initially moving on the plunger the housing into different adjusted positions lengthwise of the shoe, a tread abutment and a back clamp, which comprises a pair of clamping members, means for securing said abutment and said back clamp against movement with respect to the housing, means for initially adjusting with relation to the housing the tread abutment into different operating positions generally lengthwise of the path of movement of the plunger and heightwise of the shoe and also about an axis disposed at right angles to said path and generally widthwise of the shoe, means for initially adjusting with relation to the housing the clamping members equal distances toward and away from each other in paths disposed transversely of the shoe, means for initially swinging the clamping members as a unit into different angular positions with relation to the housing about an axis disposed transversely of the shoe, and means for initially moving with relation to the housing said clamping members as a unit lengthwise of the shoe.

4. In a heel attaching machine, a nailing die for supporting a shoe to which a heel is to be attached, a powered plunger movable in a predetermined path toward and away from said die, a heel holddown including a housing, means for rigidly securing the housing to the plunger and for initially adjusting said housing generally lengthwise of the shoe with relation to the plunger, said holddown comprising a tread abutment, a mount for said tread abutment, means for initially moving with reference to the housing said mount and accordingly the tread abutment as an entirety lengthwise of the path of movement of said plunger and for securing saidmount and accordingly the tread abutment to said mount whereby to accommodate heels of different heights, means for initially securing the tread abutment in difierent angular positions on the mount in accordance with the angle of the tread face of the heel, a pair of back clamp members constructed and arranged to engage opposite transverse portions of the back of the heel, an arcuate holder having a guideway extending transversely of the shoe and adapted to receive said back clamp members, a carrier, means for initially securing the carrier to the housing in different adjusted positions generally-lengthwise of the shoe, said carrier being adapted to support the holder in difiFerent angularly adjusted positions about an axis extending transversely of the shoe, means for initially moving the back clamp members equal distances in opposite directions along the guideway of theholder and for retaining said members in the proper adjusted positions to cause them to assume desirable positions in accordance with the width of the heel, means for effecting an adjustment of the arcuate holder on the carrier about an axis extending transversely of the shoe to cause the back clamp members to assume different angular operating positions against the back of the heel, said means for initially securing on the housing the carrier in different adjusted positions generally lengthwise of the shoe serving to move the back clamp members to their most effective holddown positions lengthwise of the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED 'STATES PATENTS 1,583,849 Minett May 11, 1926 1,926,147 Gouldbourn Sept. 12, 1933 2,178,615 Standish Nov. 7, 1939 2,180,438 Standish Nov. 21, 1939 

1. IN A HEEL ATTACHING MACHINE, A NAILING DIE FOR SUPPORTING IN A PREDETERMINED POSITION A SHOE TO WHICH A HEEL IS TO BE ATTACHED, A POWERED PLUNGER MOVABLE IN A PREDETERMINED PATH TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE NAILING DIE, A HOUSING SECURED TO THE PLUNGER, A TREAD CLAMP AND A PAIR OF BACK CLAMPS, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID CLAMPS AGAINST MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE HOUSING, MEANS FOR INITIALLY ADJUSTING WITH RELATION TO THE HOUSING THE TREAD CLAMP INTO DIFFERENT OPERATING POSITIONS GENERALLY LENGTHWISE OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE PLUNGER AND ALSO ABOUT AN AXIS WHICH IS DISPOSED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID PATH AND GENERALLY WIDTHWISE OF THE SHOE, MEANS FOR INITIALLY ADJUSTING WITH RELATION TO THE HOUSING THE BACK CLAMPS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER IN A PATH EXTENDING GENERALLY WIDTHWISE OF THE SHOE, MEANS FOR INITIALLY SWINGING SAID CLAMPS AS A UNIT INTO DIFFERENT ANGULAR POSITIONS WITH RELATION TO THE HOUSING ABOUT AN AXIS DISPOSED GENERALLY WIDTHWISE OF THE SHOE, AND MEANS FOR INITIALLY MOVING ON THE HOUSING SAID BACK CLAMPS AS A UNIT GENERALLY LENGTHWISE OF THE SHOE. 